Lighting device for player pianos



R; C. MORENUS. `LIGHTING DEVICE 'FOR PLAYER PIANos.

APPLICATION .FILED IAN. 29, 192|- Pa'tented Ma'vy 9,

EISA

RICHARD C. MOR-ENUS, OF LAPORTI', INDIANA.

LIGHTING DEVICE FOR PLAYER lIANOS.

Application filed January 29, 1921f To @ZZ whom 'it may conce/mt:

Be it known that I, RICHARD C. lVIoRnNUs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Laportea in the county of Laporte and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LightingDevices for Player Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to player pianos and consists in a lighting devicefor illuminating the roll located in the music well of the piano.

One obj ect of my invention is to illuminate the roll without casting aglare in the eyes of the operator or shedding a great deal of lightthroughout the room.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the light maybe automatically lit when the doors of the music well are opened andwill be automatically extinguished when these doors are closed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of the music well and the sliding doors for same in closedposition with my apparatus installed and with the piano case broken awayto more clearly illustrate my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the doors in open position.

Fig. 8 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of the lamp, battery,switch and switch control element taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 andFig, d is a detail top view of the same elements.

The doors 1 and 2 are slidably mounted on tracks 3 and l and are adaptedto open or close the music well opening 5 in the usual manner.

Secured near the top of the well is a block 6 which carries a battery 7secured to the boX by a strap 8 preferably of conducting material. Alamp socket 9 is mounted on the forward end of the block immediatelyover and slightly in advance of the right hand side of the music roll10. A. very small lamp 11 is screwed into socket 9. One pole 12 of thebattery is connected direct to socket 9 and the other pole 13 isconnected by means of strip 14, strap 8 and wire 15 to a flat spring 16the forward end of which is adapted to move to and from the contactpoint of socket 9 in a vertical plane. It is obvious that contact ofspring 16 and the socket con- Specication of iletters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1922.

Serial No. 440,871.

tact point will close the circuit and light lamp Il.

'llo automatically depress spring 16 when the doors are opened and torelease the spring when the doors are closed are the functions of thelever mechanism illustrated in which a bar 17 is fixedly mounted on door2 and a link 18 is pivotallymounted upon door 1 at 19. Lever` 2O ispivoted intermediate its ends at 21 upon the piano box or some otheriiXed point. The other end of link 18 is pivotally connected to one endof lever 20 and the other end of lever 20 is pivotally connected to bar17' by a rod 22. Iod 22 carries a finger 23.

When the doors are opened, rod 22 is pulled to the right and its lefthand end is iii-st raised and then lowered by lever 20 so that itassumes the final position shown in Fig. 2. During the shifting of rod22, finger 2.3 travels the path indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 2and engages spring 16 from above, depressing the latter to contact withsocket 9 and complete the lamp circuit.

ldhen the doors are closed, the movements of rod 22 and finger 23 arereversed and spring 16 is released from circuit closing position. Thisopening of the circuit takes place upon very slight closing movement ofthe doors and if the piano should be used in the day time and theartificial light is not desired the doors may be moved toward each otherfar enough to raise finger 23 from spring` 16 without reducing the wellopening enough to interfere with the sight or replacenient of the musicroll 10.

If desired the lamp may be supplied with current from the ordinary housewiring equipped with a suitable switch and other necessary appliances.This and other modifieations of my device may be made without departingfrom the spirit of my invention and I contemplate such changes in theapplica-tion of my invention to player pianos.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a music well. a lamp for lightingsaid well, a door for closing said well, a bar pivotally connected atone end with means on said door and pivotally connected at the other endwith a rocking support, and means operated by said bar for controllingsaid lamp.

2. In a device of the class described. a music well, a lamp toilluminate said well a door adapted to close said well, means formounting, said door permiing greater opening movement` than required'for convenient access to said Well, and means operated by the door inmoving beyond the ooint necessary 'co give convenient access to the Wellfor lightingv said lamp.

lrn a piano, a. music Well, a lamp adapted to illuminate said musicWell, a pair of doors adapted to close and open said music Well, meansier constraining said doors "ao inove in unison in closing and opening`and permitting said doors to open Wider Jchan necessary to giveconvenient access 'to said vieil, and means operated by movement of thedoors beyond the point necessary to give convenient access to the Wellfor lighting said lamp.

4L.. ln a piano, a music Well, a lamp adapted to illuminare said Well, alamp switch,

doors for said Well, a bar carried by one of said doors, a lever havinga fixed pivot, a link connecting one end of said lever to the other ofsaid doors, a rod connecting the other end of said lever to said bar,and a finger on said bar adapted to engage said switch.

5. In a piano, a music Well, a lamp adapted to illuminate said Well, alamp switch, sliding doors for said Well, a rod secured to one of saiddoors, a lever having` a fixed ful- Crum, adapted to be operated by theother of said doors, and adapted, when so operared, ro raise and lowersaid rod, and an element on said rod adapied to close said switch Whensaid rod is shifted by the opening of said doors.

